And, behold, there was a man named Zacchæus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
Many, no doubt, were converted to the faith of Christ of whom no account is kept in the gospels; but the conversion of some, whose case had something in it extraordinary, is recorded, as this of Zaccheus. Christ passed through Jericho, Luk 19:1. This city was build under a curse, yet Christ honoured it with his presence, for the gospel takes away the curse.
Commenting on Luke 19:1-10
And he sought to see Jesus who he was,.... What sort of a person he was for complexion, stature, and age: having heard much of him, he was very desirous of indulging his curiosity with a sight of him; having, as yet, nothing else that induced him to desire to see him: his desire to see Jesus was not of the same kind with the...
Verse 2. A man named Zaccheus. The name Zaccheus is Hebrew, and shows that this man was a Jew. The Hebrew name properly means pure, and is the same as Zacchai in . The publicans, therefore, were not all foreigners. Chief among the publicans. Who presided over other tax-gatherers, or who received their collections and transmitted them to the Roman government He was rich.